UK launches global fund to help end ‘period poverty’ by 2050

Uttara Saud, 14, sits inside a Chaupadi shed in the hills of Legudsen village in Achham District in western Nepal February 16, 2014. REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar

It is estimated that half of all women and girls in poor countries are forced to use rags, cloths, grass and paper during their periods since many can’t afford to buy sanitary products

LONDON, March 4 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Britain launched a
global “period poverty” fund and taskforce on Monday to help all women
and girls access sanitary products by 2050 and to tackle the stigma
around menstruation.

It is estimated that half of all women and girls in poor countries
are forced to use rags, cloths, grass and paper during their periods
since many can’t afford to buy sanitary products, the UK government
said.

A survey by the children’s charity Plan International found that 10
percent of girls in Britain alone have been unable to afford sanitary
products.

The government pledged to give 2 million pounds ($2.64 million) to
organisations working to end period poverty globally, and has also
earmarked 250,000 pounds to create a taskforce of government
departments, charities and private enterprises to tackle the issue.

“Empowerment starts when you are young. Girls should be able to focus
on their education and their future without being worried about or
embarrassed by their periods,” said Penny Mordaunt, Minister for Women
and Equalities, in a statement.

Menstruation is still taboo in many countries. In Nepal, the
centuries-old Hindu practice of “chaupadi”, where women are banished
from their homes during their periods, has led to four deaths since the
start of the year.

In Britain, about one in four young women aged 11-21 feel embarrassed
to talk about their periods, according to girls charity Girl Guiding
UK.

Coding consortium Unicode, which distributes emojis across mobile
devices, said it will include a period emoji – a drop of blood – this
month after Plan campaigned for one to help people talk openly about
menstruation.

“This is a global issue. Without education, women and girls around
the world won’t be able to take the steps to reach their true
potential,” said Mordaunt, who is also Britain’s International
Development minister.

Globally, about 288 million women are on their period each day, yet
one in three don’t have access to a toilet to use during menstruation,
according to the charity WaterAid.
https://www.wateraid.org/uk/period-proud

The United Nations estimates that due to a lack of facilities, one in
10 girls in Africa will miss school during their period and will
eventually drop out of school as a result. ($1 = 0.7564 pounds)